This is fun because I looked into the “New Jersey Method” some years ago when Jersey residents were being held up as paragons of the green orthodoxy for their stellar recycling rate as compared to us undertaxed heathens in Delaware.

Their “measurement method” counts the recycled material two or three times so that 20% becomes 40% even 60%. Lets suppose a little town collects your 100 pounds of recycled material. Then the town transfers it to a middleman who combines it with the collections of other towns so there is a large enough amount to be processed. That company delivers it to a company that actually does the recycling. They would count the same 100 pounds once when the town picked it up from your house and again when it is delivered to the recycler.

So 100 pounds becomes 200 and your rate doubles. If you want to get from 20% to 60%, just add another intermediary. That is what I call an alternative method of measurement! Or a fraud; take your pick.